We were very lucky in that we had no water leaks in our house. The pipes had frozen before we were able to get someone to go to our house. They turned the water valve in the garage off and opened some faucets. It must have thawed slowly when the heat came back on and drained out the open faucets. The ice maker, dishwasher and washing machine lines were all ok too.
We were not so lucky outside. Our brand new backflow that was drained, turned off, wrapped and with the sprinkler system also off, cracked. It was leaking water so we had another neighbor turn the water off at the outdoor meter box.
We spent a good deal of time arranging to have it repaired and finally had it fixed on Friday. The sprinkler system checked out ok but there was the problem of the water above the French drain and the filled water meter box. The water company said our French drain was leaking! Excuse me, it is a drain! It needs a water source to disperse water and it had all been shut off! The water board guy says the boxes all fill up. My yard guy said the French drain was clogged. FINALLY, after installing the new backflow and checking the sprinklers I asked this man to look at my “old mill stream” in the front yard. He said “you have a leak.” Hallelujah! He showed Ted where the meter moved ever so slightly at intervals. Based on the saturation of the ground he thinks we have a pipe leaking starting at our front fence leading right into the meter box. It will be dug up and repaired next week. Everyone is so busy. In the meantime my water meter is moving ever so slightly and there is a permanent wet gutter all the way down the street.
We were to get our first vaccine shot on Wednesday and whoever was in charge of logistics should be shot! Traffic on the interstate, feeder roads and cross streets was in virtual gridlock. Knowing we needed to get two shots and fearing we had to return to the same place, we bailed! My mail neighbor gave me a letter her husband had received from a hospital where he had been a patient. Ted had been at one time too. So we called and got appointments for Monday. No problem signing us both up. Everyone who has gone here said it is smooth sailing.
Our plants fared pretty well. The boxwoods and junipers were not affected at all. The African irises, agapanthus and hostas all have green shoots and the azaleas are blooming but without any leaves which must have all frozen and fell off. The buds apparently were unharmed.
I used the last of my Southwest credit to book our flights to Savannah where we will rent a car and drive an hour to Hilton Head to spend a week in May once again with Gus and Melissa. We had such a good time two years ago with them and their neighbors. This year, another fellow from Celanese that Gus and I worked with, and his wife, are joining us.
Friday night was the last weekend to see our community theater production of Footloose. We met Gerre and Barry at Joe’s Italian to have dinner. We have missed several productions because of Covid but the house was packed. The cast was 90% young folks and their singing and dancing was extraordinary! What a fun evening! Tonight will be their last performance and there will be a sad group. You could just feel the camaraderie and fun they were having. We thoroughly enjoyed this production. Our next and last one for this season will be Cabaret.
We didn’t know how Palm Sunday would be handled at church. Normally everyone gathers on the piazza where the Passion is read and then we process into church for the remainder of the Mass. This time we just took our socially distanced seats while wearing masks and the Passion was read from the altar.
Our niece Rhonda and two of her boys are visiting from Illinois so we met them with Terry and Carol at our favorite Mexican restaurant after Mass. I had a margarita and my old standby, chicken empanadas, that I have not seen in many Mexican restaurants. In Mexico I order lonches which are small sandwiches but I have not seen any stateside, I asked once and they looked at me like I was nuts!
We then played cards and I won! Poor Ted got stuck not going down twice. I am not sure if he or Rhonda pulled up the rear. My dime purse is overflowing! Time to “let the games begin.”
Sunday I did some cleaning of things that get missed in our travels. Baseboards, cabinets, straightened my closet and shoes, etc. while Ted worked a Tournament at Blackwater Gun Club.
We had appointments at Methodist Hospital Monday morning at 11:15 for our first vaccine shot. Because we had so much traffic last week resulting in gridlock, we left at 10:30 for a very short drive. We drove into the parking lot, followed signs to park, was picked up by a golf cart and walked right in after being questioned on our name and appt. time. There was no line, we moved from one station to the next, waited 30 minutes afterwards and left 5 minutes before our appt. time. What an immense difference! Same area, different hospital, different venue! So far, no soreness or problem for either of us.
We both eventually had a bit of soreness in our muscle but nothing too much. It didn’t bother us lying on it while sleeping. I hope the next one is equally as quick and side effects free.
Gerre stopped by for a visit and to pick up some things I brought her from Mexico. She didn’t stay terribly long but we did get caught up.
I was expecting the sprinkler guy to come on Wednesday but they called to say it would be Thursday afternoon! Patience is a virtue! I know they are all very busy but I am getting tired of watering the gutter in the street non stop! Once we have the leak fixed and with the backflow and sprinklers working okay, we will start on replacing sod and moving bull rock around to better drain the yard. Zero lot line homes are not conducive to good grading. There simply isn’t enough room. I can’t tell you how many times we have replanted and/or reworked this postage stamp yard.
Ted went shooting Wednesday and I picked up Margi and Irene for lunch. It was nice to be out with friends talking, laughing and eating like old times. We didn’t have to wear a mask in or out of the restaurant but the servers did have masks on. It said patrons could decide for themselves. Ted and I never stopped eating at restaurants. We chose outdoors when we could, went to places with great social distancing and wore masks as required. I can only think of three times in the past year where I felt we were in a bigger crowd than I was comfortable with. We simply did our best to avoid “rubbing elbows” in groups.
Today our leak was located and repaired. The man had it fixed in 20 minutes. He put the ditch back in such a way you could not tell he had dug it! He must have taken the grass off as pieces of sod and then replaced it. He said to give it two days to dry out and said the French drain is fine and does not need to be replaced.
Next up will be addition of bull rock to move the water away from the back fence and to capture the rain from the downspout instead of emptying on the grass causing mud! We need sod in many places and I imagine most will be replaced for uniformity. I ordered plants for a perennial shade garden. Annuals just don’t do it in all the shade and I have tried numerous kinds. Hopefully these new plants, once they arrive, will fill in the empty spaces.
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